Hepatitis C can spread when getting tattoos or body piercings in unlicensed facilities, informal settings, or with non-sterile instruments. People can get infected from sharing glucose monitors, razors, nail clippers, toothbrushes, and other items that may have come into contact with infected blood, even in amounts too small to see. Before widespread screening of the blood supply in , hepatitis C was also spread through blood transfusions and organ transplants. Now, the risk of transmission to recipients of blood or blood products is extremely low.
Hepatitis C is not spread by sharing eating utensils, breastfeeding, hugging, kissing, holding hands, coughing, or sneezing. It is also not spread through food or water. You can be infected again even if you have cleared the virus or were successfully treated and cured. This is why people who currently inject and share needles, syringes, or other drug preparation equipment, along with those who receive maintenance hemodialysis, should be tested for hepatitis C on a regular basis.
Yes, but the risk of transmission from sexual contact is believed to be low. The risk increases for men who have sex with men and for people who have multiple sex partners, have a sexually transmitted disease, engage in rough sex, or are infected with HIV.
Research has not shown that hepatitis C is spread within licensed, commercial tattooing facilities. Unregulated tattooing and piercing occurring in prisons and other informal settings may put a person at risk of infection. Yes, but this does not occur very often. If hepatitis C virus is spread within a household, it is most likely a result of direct, through-the-skin exposure to the blood of an infected household member.
People who are coinfected are more likely to get cirrhosis as a result of their chronic hepatitis C infection. Of every infants born to mothers with hepatitis C, about six will become infected with the hepatitis C virus.
However, the risk is greater if the mother has both HIV and hepatitis C. There is no evidence that breastfeeding spreads hepatitis C, so infected women can safely breastfeed their babies. However, women with cracked or bleeding nipples should stop nursing temporarily until their nipples have healed. Hepatitis C is spread through contact with blood, and not enough is known about whether this practice is safe.
The American Red Cross external icon does not accept blood donations from anyone who has ever tested positive for hepatitis C or from anyone with current signs or symptoms of hepatitis.
According to the U. Even with acute or chronic hepatitis C, you may be able to donate your organs or tissues. The transplant team will determine what organs or tissue can be used based on a clinical evaluation, medical history, and other factors.
For people who develop symptoms, they usually happen 2—12 weeks after exposure to the hepatitis C virus and can include yellow skin or eyes, not wanting to eat, upset stomach, throwing up, stomach pain, fever, dark urine, light-colored stool, joint pain, and feeling tired. Many people eventually develop chronic liver disease, which can range from mild to severe and include cirrhosis scarring of the liver and liver cancer. Chronic liver disease in people with hepatitis C usually happens slowly, without any signs or symptoms, over several decades.
If you are infected with the hepatitis C virus, you can spread it to others even if you have no symptoms. Regular testing is recommended for people who currently inject and share needles, syringes, or other drug preparation equipment and for those currently getting maintenance hemodialysis.
A blood test, called an HCV antibody test, is used to find out if someone has ever been infected with the hepatitis C virus. This test, sometimes called the anti-HCV test, looks for antibodies, which are proteins released into the bloodstream when someone gets infected with the virus that causes hepatitis C.
Test results can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to come back. Rapid anti-HCV tests are available in some health clinics, and the results of these tests are available in 20—30 minutes. Your doctor will help interpret the results from your HCV antibody test and help guide you through next steps.
It is important to know that. After exposure to the hepatitis C virus, it can take 8—11 weeks for an HCV antibody test to be positive. For most people who are infected, the anti-HCV blood test will become positive by 6 months after exposure.
For people with hepatitis C, it is common for liver enzyme levels to go up and down, sometimes returning to normal or near normal. Some people with hepatitis C have liver enzyme levels that are normal for over a year even though they have chronic liver disease. People with chronic hepatitis C and those with cirrhosis even if they have been cured of their hepatitis C infection should be monitored regularly by a doctor, because these people have a continued risk of complications of advanced liver disease, including liver cancer.
In addition, people living with hepatitis C should. There is no evidence that people can get hepatitis C from food handlers, teachers, or other service providers without blood-to-blood contact. Early treatment can prevent this damage.
Once infected with the hepatitis C virus, nearly 8 in 10 people remain infected for life. A simple blood test, called a hepatitis C antibody test, can tell if you have ever been infected, but cannot tell whether you are still infected.
Only a different follow-up blood test can determine if you are still infected. CDC data show only half of people with a positive hepatitis C antibody test had the follow-up test reported to the health department. The other half did not have a follow-up test reported, although some of them may have been tested. Without the follow-up test, a person will not know if they still have hepatitis C and cannot get the medical care they need. Anyone can get hepatitis C, but adults born from through are 5 times more likely to have hepatitis C.
Top of Page. Baby boomers, anyone born from through , should ask their health care provider to be tested for hepatitis C and all doctors, nurses, and other health care providers should test all their patients who are baby boomers for hepatitis C. Testing should be initiated with a blood test for hepatitis C antibody. If the blood test for hepatitis C antibody is negative, then there is no hepatitis C virus infection and no further action needed.
If the blood test for hepatitis C antibody is positive, then there needs to be a follow-up RNA blood test for hepatitis c virus infection. If the RNA is positive, then there is hepatitis C virus infection. Refer for further evaluation and connect to medical care. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Vital Signs. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Hepatitis C Testing baby boomers saves lives.
Minus Related Pages. On This Page. Getting tested is important to find out if you are infected so you can get lifesaving treatment that can cure hepatitis C. A blood test, called an HCV antibody test, is used to find out if someone has ever been infected with the hepatitis C virus.
Antibodies are chemicals released into the bloodstream when someone gets infected. Test results can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to come back. Rapid anti-HCV tests are available in some health clinics and the results of these tests are available in 20 to 30 minutes. This is true if they have cleared the virus, have been cured, or still have the virus in their blood.
Another name used for this test is a PCR test. Treatments are available that can cure most people with hepatitis C in 8 to 12 weeks. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Viral Hepatitis. Section Navigation.
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